“Elwha: A River Reborn” With Author and Reporter, Lynda Mapes

When the Elwha River dams began to come down in 2011, it had been 20 years since Congress passed the Elwha Restoration Act. In 2012, less than a year after dam removal began, Chinook salmon returned to the river for the first time in over a century.

Join Seattle Times journalist and author Lynda Mapes at the Tumwater Timberland Library on Tuesday, June 18 from 6 to 7 p.m. for a discussion of her new book, published by The Mountaineers Books, “Elwha: A River Reborn.”

Through the 1800s, the Klallam, the largest tribe on the peninsula, lived and fished along the Elwha River and both sides of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. In 1910, dam construction on the Elwha began. One year later all signs of salmon disappeared above the dam.

“Elwha examines how and why the river was dammed during the early development of the Olympic Peninsula, and how native people and environmentalists—once dismissed as extremists with a loony idea—made the first step to team up to tear them down. The book takes readers deep into the Olympics to see this river up close, and understand what is at stake in this $325 million, taxpayer-funded effort to restore a legendary wilderness valley.” —Lynda Mapes (from Preface)

“Elwha: A River Reborn” is based on extensive interviews, field work, historical research, period images, and photography conducted over 16 years. The book includes 175 color photos by Steve Ringman, as well as historical images. Books will be available for purchase at the library event.

Mapes is a staff reporter for The Seattle Times, where she specializes in coverage of Native American tribes, nature, and environmental topics. She has received many national and regional awards. Ringman, twice named national Newspaper Photographer of the Year by the National Press Photographers Association, is a general assignment photographer for The Seattle Times.